Monday, 7 September 2015

My Little Garden

I often get asked about my own garden, as opposed to the allotment, and so I thought I would share a few pictures and talk a little bit about what goes on in the patch outside my back door.
The garden is tiny and is part of a larger space that is shared with the house upstairs, so our garden is basically the patio area outside the back door and is delineated by the step down to the main garden. The main space is very wild and occassionally I go and hack some of it back but it's not my space and so I shall concentrate on what is mine to play in.
Firstly I have no soil so the entire garden is in pots and raised beds which were here when we arrived. When we first arrived the whole space was over run by brambles which we are still fighting, and with the ivy which still adorns the wall and which, now we are in control of it, lends a lush background to the space.
The garden's main issue is its lack of biodiversity, which is an ongoing issue and will continue to be so. Being in the centre of a city means that the naturalised birds are seagulls and pigeons and there is not a hedgehog to be found for miles around. We are starting to see smaller birds by introducing feeders and with the wilder area at the back offering seclusion there have been a few nests in the garden this year but the thrushes and blackbirds we so desperately need to control the mollusc problem are not to be seen. And the mollusc problem is huge!! Twice daily patrols, organic pellets and now the introduction of a copper band around a lupin, many thanks to STV Peat Control, and we are beginning to win a few battles but in the rain last week that was so torrential I forgot about slug patrols, we lost 24 kale plants, 48 lettuces and my Monarda was eaten down to its roots. But more on Sluggmagedon in a future post!! In the meantime the fight to increase numbers of birds goes on along with the hope that we might be able to introduce a small pond into the wilder area which might bring with it some amphibians.....

The large banana plant came from the south east with me and will need to be repotted into a far larger pot next spring. I left it outside over the winter and it was perfectly fine-one of the joys of being in the city centre!

That empty pot needs filling desperately as well as being moved to a different point in the space. I think it may soon have the banana in it!!

A corner of the garden that has a large raised bed at the back and pots at the front full of echinacea, fuchsias, agapanthis and more. I've spent all summer moving pots around until they worked and there is still more moving to do.

There are two benches in the garden, both of which are full of plants and seedlings!! This is a great sunny spot for the chillies which are ripening nicely. The really great thing about the garden is not only is it really secluded and has it's own microclimate but it also is south facing.

This corner is still continually having to have brambles cut back in it but they are starting to get the message I hope.

The area under the stairs from the upstairs is really useful for propagation but at the moment there are more chillies ripening there.

About Me

I am a professional horticulturalist, plantswoman, gardener, garden writer. Since 2005 I have made my living from my love of plants, gardens and the natural world. I am a passionate allotment holder, am fascinated by permaculture, love all things flowery and also long to share my passion with others which I am starting to do by setting up a range of courses for adults, and running Tiny Trowels for Under 5s, all in sunny Bristol. I have also co-founded Incredible Edible Bristol and am a bit busy turning Bristol into the UK's 1st edible city!!
Please ask before you quote from this blog!! Email sara@thephysicgarden.co.uk.